my art

Monday, December 16, 2013

At firstglance, this painting may seem out of place for the holiday season, but as you unwrap its symbols you will find that it is very timely, and maybe even relevant to where you are right now.

So, if you are familiar withFruitless, you see the bleakness of the scene: the gray sky, the broken and decimated trees, and the dark and barren earth. It seems as if what was once productive is now producing nothing. In the foreground the largest tree has been cut down the lowest.

Christmas tree producers have started cutting down only the top of large tree types used for the season, instead of cutting down whole trees and ravaging an area. The top then grows back quickly, without damaging the tree.

This tree, however, has been cut down so low that it is a mere stump, and a shadow of its former glory, and even with all of this apparent destruction, there are signs of rebirth. The one thing about Life is that it is resilient in the face of death and it desires, and even demands, to be lived. The clouds hovering above hint at a downpour, and the trees—though broken and battered—stand rooted, ready to grow at the scent of new rain, but what about the main tree? It's only a stump, but the thing is that it still has its roots, and with those roots it has reached out to a source of water and it is being nourished. This speaks to us in a very real way; no matter what we look like on the outside temporarily, we can always come back to life if our roots are being watered. You will notice that the stump, the least likely to produce anything, is already sprouting—it is coming back to life, which brings us to the cardinal.

Amidst all this gray comes a spark of life, which is the cardinal. The cardinal bares witness to the new life that is springing forth and is the ultimate symbol for that life. It is the harbinger saying: everything here is coming back to life, everything here is being reborn.◊ Tell me how you feel about this particular painting, I look forward to hearing your comments.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

This feature interview highlights the work of phenomenal artist Katia Zhukova, and goes behind the scenes to discover her journey, process, and what moves her to create what she creates.Katia Zhukova describes herself as primarily a self-taught artist with a love of "color, movement, and abstraction." With her use of color and high-contrast, her work produces an energy that simply pulls in the viewer. Through the media of acrylic, graphite, charcoal, and colored pencil, her work conveys a drama that turns the canvas into a stage and invites the viewer to an experience that goes beneath the surface.

Katia: I've had this question posed to me many times before, and I've always struggled somewhat to explain it, but I recently saw a wonderful quote from Oscar Wilde that I think perfectly states what I've been trying to put into words: "Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter." And I think that for me, that is absolutely true. I think that in essence I am painting self portraits in the form of different people.

mg: The "dancer series" in your etsy shop features different types
of dance and movement; what is it about the performing arts that inspire you as a painter?

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"Athens"

Katia: With my figure skating background, dance is a very natural inspiration for me, the movement and elegance of dance being very similar to skating. With my Dancer series, I wanted to take the person out of the dance, and focus instead on the pose itself, and on the movement and color, as opposed to the specific dancer herself.

mg: Are any of the vibrant characters depicted in your work inspired by real people, or did these images emerge from your imagination?

Katia: Usually, I’m inspired by something or someone I see. When I work with models for portraits, I just try different poses, and then basically turn up the tension or drama in the image when I paint it. With my Dancer series, I looked for poses that appealed to me, and then took away the person, leaving the pose itself, and then added color, leaving the images almost the opposite of what I usually do; that is, focusing on everything but the person.

mg: This is a two part question: "Damiana"( pictured at the top) is
one of my favorite pieces. I love the drama conveyed, as well
as the emotions lying beneath the surface. What moved you to
paint this particular piece? What is your favorite piece, if any,
and why?

Katia:"Damiana" is one on my most polarizing portraits. It’s very
interesting the various reactions that I get from this
particular painting. Some people absolutely love it, and it is
one of my favorite portraits, but other people who see it
seem to find it quite off-putting, and even vulgar. The
reference I used for "Damiana" was a lovely picture, but it
had a very different feel from the finished painting. It was
very light, and almost ethereal. The finished painting
became almost the opposite, much darker and somewhat
gritty. I don’t have any one favorite painting, but there are
some that feel closer to me than others. "Alexa" is one,
"Damiana" another, and there are several that are newly
finished, that I haven't shown yet, that would fit that
category.

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"Alexa"

mg: Which one of your pieces, to date, have provoked the
greatest response?

Katia: Of the portrait series, I'd
probably say "Alexa". It was the first painting in my current portrait series, and somehow it really seems to appeal to a lot of people. I think the pose of the image really draws people in, and invites them to think of her story.

mg: Have you been able to visit any of the countries or cultures depicted in your work; if so, where have you visited, if not, where would you like to go?

Katia: I did spend some time in Italy, and Austria as a child, and
of course Ukraine and Russia, but I definitely would like to
go back to Europe at some point. I'm particularly drawn to
European architecture and art, especially that of Spain and
Italy, and would love to spend at least a little time there.

mg: Going forward, what subject matter(s) can we expect to see you convey in your work in the near future?

Katia: I’m currently continuing my work on my portrait series. I have a few paintings done already, and a few more that I'm currently working on. I will be putting some of them up on my website and Etsy within the next few weeks.

Monday, March 11, 2013

This feature interview highlights the work of phenomenal creators and designers, MindHarvest, and goes behind the scenes to discover their journey, their process, and what moves them to create what they create.

MindHarvest T's( and t-shirts are only the beginning) is the brain-child of Anthony and Angelique, a couple which resides in Central Pennsylvania. It's only fitting that this duo of a graphic artist and OB-Gyn would come together to birth such unique, clever, and culturally-rich designs.

interview by: millian glennQues.1 So, tell me a little about yourself, where you’refrom, how did you get started; is there more than oneperson behind MindHarvest, and if so, how do youcollaborate to execute ideas?

MindHarvest is a collaboration between my fiance and I. It was born out of our desire to expose our son to more culturally diverse products and books.

Anthony is a Graphics designer by profession and he brings all of our ideas to life.

I am an OB-Gyn and I do most of our marketing and logistics. We started dating when we lived in Philadelphia. Upon moving to Central Pennsylvania we quickly discovered the culturally rich environment we were accustomed to had vanished. Our son was now being raised in a less diverse population. Our trips to the library had us returning with books where most of the characters had blond hair.

So we created our own series of childrenstories for our home enjoyment. The main character in these stories is a caricature of our son. We utilized these stories to teach him to embrace his differences.

Our idea on children's stories quickly evolved to T-shirts... Graphic Tees are in style and we wanted to purchase designs related to things that we were passionate about or at least with characters that had some Afro-centric features. This resulted in the birth of our T-shirt line. Our collaboration works well because we are a couple and we frequently blend our ideas over dinner or during pillow talk.

Ques.2 How did you come up with the name MindHarvest, and what inspires you to create the images seen on your t-shirts.

There is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: The ancestor ofevery action is a thought.Anthony and I constantly throw around great ideas and we wantedour company name to inspire us to harvest our ideas and makethem fruitful.We want the imagery of our t-shirt to evoke positivity and wellness.We draw our inspiration from everything around us.

Ques. 3 Your ideas are very creative and witty, what is it about MindHarvest that you think makes you unique whencompared to other t-shirt designers?

There are two aspects of our designs that make them like noother graphic t-shirt I have ever seen.

- Our shirts are not silk screened, the images are created witha bleaching method. Each shirt has its marks of individualitybecause of the handmade design process.

- Our designs are driven by pushing ourselves creatively andcoming up with novel concepts that make the viewer think.

Ques.4 In what ways have your t-shirts resonated withpeople inside, and outside of the African-Americandemographic?

Although our store is in its infancy, many people of all cultureshave admired our images because of their creative/uniquepresentation. They are pieces of art that make a statement.People of color appreciate our work because of the dearth ofafrocentric images available in the t-shirt industry.

Ques.5 What is your favorite t-shirt todate, if any, and why? Which t-shirt hasgarnered thegreatest response?

My favorite T-shirt is our Superfly shirt, but Iam sentimentally biased because the designinspiration was a picture of my father.

It is really important to allow time for creativity and inspiration, particularly when you draw a great deal of stimulus from your environment. We have been attentive and not overly distracted with the day to day routines allowing fertile ground for our ideas.

Ques.10 What are your plans and desires for MindHarvest going forward?

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About Me

Born and raised in Dallas,Tx, I've had art classes all my life, beginning at the tender age of 8 yrs. old. At the time it was normal, but looking back I didn't realize how unusual it was to have a separate art class for a bunch of public school, 2nd graders. It was the spark that initiated my journey into modern art, which is yet unfolding this very day. Beginning with drawing, I slowly progressed to painting during my secondary and highschool years. I work mostly with oil, but I also use acrylics and color pencil and I learn something--as most growing artist do--everytime I pick up the brush.
Thanks for peeking in on my journey; I hope my work speaks to you in a very real and profound way.